Son of Frederick Philipse, First Lord of the Lv! Anor

Illustrated by JOHN R. BACON

Printed under the supervision of THOfvIAS H. DENNIS by THE TARRYTOWN DAILY NEWS

Published by THE TARRYTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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[}reetings The historical Tarrytowns (old Beekmantown and old Tarry Town) welcome you to our hospitality, to our scenic beauties and to our incomparable historical spots and memories. Here were the Indians at Hokohongus and Alipconck. Here Frederick Philipse built his "Castle" and .his church. You may visit both. Washington Irving came and brought our communi ties to you in his stories while he himself reflected glory upon us both abroad and in this country. Nor should you forget that what was probably the cn.:c:al event of the War of the Revolution took place practically at the border line between North Tarrytown and Tarrytown. For .here Andre was captured. Nor does this reveal more than a fraction cf our story. No communities have greater local pride. None have richer historical background. And none have a more interesting local tradition. follow:ng the spirit of the English manor. To us Frederick Philipse and his descendants have been Lords of the Manor. The title becan,e associated in thought if not act ivith those who later occupied Castle Philipse. Mr. John D. Rocke feller. Sr .. may be credited with changing this tradition to one more in keeping with the spirit of American democracy. His genuine interest in his friends and neighbors and his thoroughly American spirit won for him, from the hearts of the community the title, "Neighbor John." Good .. Neighbor John, Sr.'' has passed. But the tradition remains. As or..:r young men and women grow up and assume responsibilities in this community or the outside world, it is our fond .hope that they will inherit, through the succeeding years, thorough happy cooperation and neighborliness with this family whose home has lo:1.q been in our midst. both the spirit and the friendly contacts with the ··Neighbor Johns" of their own gen rration. a tradition already carried on u.,,1ith qood ··Neighbor John, Jr." This thought is perpetuated in the Hall of Tradition at the Historical Society. This guide book has been prepared to help you find our attractive spots most easily. You may. if you prefer, have a trained guide to escort you. And it may interest you to know that this book is written by a local author, illustrated by a local artist and printed locally as well. Thus we extend to you the right hand of fellowship. Stay with us as long as you can. Perhaps you will be like the rest of us and never want to leave this peerless spot. HUGH GRANT ROWELL, President Tarrytown Historical Society.

SPONSORED BY THE TARRYTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY WITH THE APPROVAL OF The Affiliated Historical Committees representing the historic in terests of the Old Dutch Church, Christ Church, the local branch of the Hudson River Conservation Society and the Tarrytown Historical Society; and the Chamber of Commerce of Tarrytown, North Tarrytown and Irvington.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE Ackerman. Rev. C. Kenneth Hughes. John J. Bacon. John R. Hughes. Dr. Joseph E. Bradley, Jerome Kederich, Laurence Case. Mrs. Leslie V. O'Brien, Earle Parker Conklin, Margaret S. Potter, John A. Davidson, Arthur I. Rockefeller, John D., Jr. Dennis. Thomas H. Rowell, Dr. Hugh Grant Taylor, Dr. Robert

Feeling that this Guide Book and brief local history is a contrib:.i tion to the historical. business and tocial life of Tarrytown and North Tarrytotun. our local banks have made this publication possible. The appreciation of the sponsor-s. adv:sory committee and communities is owing to

THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF NORTH TARRYTO\VN Mr. John J. Hughes, President

THE TARRYTOWN l\J"ATIONAL BANK AND TRUST COMPANY Mr. Jerome Bradley, President

THE WASHINGTON IRVING TRUST COMPANY Dr. Joseph E. Hughes. President

THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY SAVINGS BANK Mr. Arthur I. Davidson, President

Historical Guide TO Tarrytown and North Tarrytown

For over 100 years Sleepy Hollow has drawn pilgrims from all parts of the world ... not by its Hudson River views ... not by its unique historical background, nor its modern homes, schools and highways ... but because one man has so quickened the place with his imagination that it is part of the birthright of every English-speaking person in the world. WASHINGTON IRVING has given Sleepy Hollow to everyone who has read or heard about the · 'Sketch Book'' and each journeys to see his own possession when he comes to Sleepy Hollow. If the "Sketch Book" had not been written, Sleepy Hollow might have been only another charming Hudson River neighborhood with its past long lost in dust. And yet, spravviing along a group of low-swung hills, Sleepy Ho]ow cradles a wealth of possessions in a small land, as distinct today as it was centuries before Irving ever knew of it. Here was once the Indian village and council tree, Hokohongus. Here Frederick Philipse, Lord of the Manor, built his fortress, his mill a~d his church. Here Major John Andre was captured with the p:ans delivering West Point to the British, whereby the tide of the Revolution was determined. Here Washington Irving's characters, creations of his, but mo.:-e actual than many realities, lived and breathed. Here today, one of the world's greatest philanthropists, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., makes his home and holds in trust the woodlands and meadows to which still cling the quality, the charm which indentifies, more than any physical characteristics, Sleepy Hollow. This intrinsic quality was felt by Irving, when as a boy he wandered "gun in hand" beside the Pocantico River. Edgar Mayhew Bacon in his "Chronicles of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow" followed the same elusive will-o-wisp. The actual boundaries of the valley of Sleepy Hollow are along the Pocantico and Saw Mill Rivers for a little way. The real Hollow lies large! y in the Rockefeller estate and is followed by Sleepy Hollow Road. But the quality, the individual atmosphere which Irving interpreted, extends through a district which today includes the Tarrytowns, Sleepy Hollow Manor, Philipse Manor and Pocantico Hills. Linked by history, tradition and Irving's tales, these are divided only nominally.- Their common trap root extends too far into Colonial foundations for separation today. 7 WASHINGTON IRVING, ESQ. Painted by C. R. Leslie, R.A. Engraved by George W. Hatch. (Hatch~ Smillie) for the Ne·w York Mirror, 1832. From the Leslie V. Case Memorial Collection. Presented by Nlrs. Wor cester Warner to the Tarrytown Historical Society. HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Situated on Grove Street) A consciousness of its role in the American panorama, even though undefined, was apparent in the Tarrytowns some time before the Civil War. Much of the credit for the preservation of historical data is due to the Historical Society, which now has its museum on Grove Street. The beginnings of the society go back to the formation of the Monument Association which erected the first memorial to Andre's captors in 18 5 3. The culmination of the long campaign resulted in a strong organization, revived in 18 79 when a more e:aborate monument, the present one, was erected. The Historical Society proper, rooted in this organization, was incorporated on December 15, 1900. Two days after the papers were signed, Miss Marietta P. Hay made her will bequeathing the Grove Street p:operty and other funds for maintenance to the society. After her death a few years later, the society moved to the present quarters and has continued in its constitutional object "to make a collect:on of books, manuscripts, pictures, historical remains, and various other memorials bearing upon local and national history, for the purpose of p:-eserving the same, promoting public interest in the history of the country, and ... making the collection avail able to the public." In the Hall of Tradition, ''from the Lords of the Manor to good 'Neighbor John'," is found the personal memorial of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to his father, appropriately placed in the historical museum of the community which this distinguished family recognize as their true home. The memorial contains objects intimately associated with "Neighbor John" and often mentioned in the stories about him. The memorial is built around a stately Victorian desk of unusual design at which this industrial empire builder, philan thropist and good neighbor sat as he looked far into the future and planned beyond the existing horizon. This desk is considered by his family as the piece of furniture most intimately and exclu sively associated with him. While it descends to other generations of his family, being now the property of Mr. Winthrop Rocke feller, it has been made available for the memorial for a period of years. On the desk, suitably protected, are certain books of a re ligious nature, well thumbed and with corners turned by his own fingers. A copy of his own book rests on the desk - a book which, it is said, that he seems to be speaking with the reader. And near it, a letter from "Neighbor John, Jr" regarding the 9 Memorial. emphasizing his close bond with his father and the close bond between the Rockefeller family and the local com mun1t1es. Here, too, may be seen a calling card of "John Davison Rockefeller,·• a poem he wrote and copies of two of his addresses. One of two existing photostatic copies of "Ledger A," the :first account book of the youth who always urged thrift and savings upon others. In another panel is the story of '·Neighbor John and His Local Friends" where a friendly photograph of Mr. Rockefeller,

The Rockefeller Desk (Closed) Senior, is surrounded with letters revealing the contacts made with him by persons of all walks of life and to w horn he had given a nickel. or later, a dime of the current year, always with a friendly touch about thrift. A feature is a gift of Mr. Charles Vanderbilt, a friend and golf partner of "Neighbor John's," a snapshot show ing Mr. Rockefeller in the act of taking from his pocket the very dime framed with Mr. Vanderbilt's brief notation. The picture was given to Mr. Vanderbilt by Mr. Rockefeller as a surprise. Another fascinating story is revealed of a nickel given to a man 10 in youth. lost for two years and found again. going through the World War and lost in the Siberian snows but recovered after much. sifting. . In. this section, local residents have their oppor- tun1ty to rem1n1sce. Above the desk is hung a striking autographed portrait of the man in his active creative days, flanked by others revealing the passage of years from youth to the calmness of age. The picture frames and coxes for the books are made from wood from Mr. Rockefeller, Sr.'s New York dwelling. now torn down. As if smiling down upon her son. whose great a:ff ection for her 1s well known. is a most interes·ting photograph of his mother. In another panel is the local version of the dime story. Nearby. on a Victorian mantle in a case from one of a pair of mirrors from Kijkuit. are other associative objects centered around a steel engraving by Timothy Cole, the famous engraver. This is a copy of a favorite portrait of "Neighbor John" by his friend, John Singer Sargent, the original painting being in the dining room at Kijkuit. another proof of the close bond between father and son. Surrounding the steel engraving may also be seen a copy of the ''Gardens of Kijkuit, '' a privately printed pictorial story of what is probably the most carefully and success fully planned home and grounds know·n. where architecture skillfully blends international themes and artistic beauty with unparalleled views of the Hudson River and the hills of West chester. In the case is also the memorial volume issued by the several Rockefeller Philanthropic Boards containing a multitude of international tributes at the time of the death of Mr. Rockefeller, Sr. And there is a copy of the prayers offered by Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick which was subsequently printed and distributed by Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Elsewhere in the room, over a similar mantle in duplicate of the Rockefeller case, are various items from the Elsie Janis and Leslie V. Case collections constituting the Philipse Memorial. Through the aid of Mr. Rockefeller, Jr., and with the cooperation of Mrs. Rockefeller, the Museum of the City of New York and the New York Historical Society, a group of portraits of members of the Philipse Family, by famous artists, are available in photo graphic form. Near by is the Elsie Janis corner, in token of her close association with the community. Elsewhere in the room are various portraits, usually associated with Philipse Castle, among which are two early primitives on wood by an unknown artist and said to be unusually fine. In this room are held the meetings of the Historical Society and certain other service and patriotic organizations. 11 The Bacon Room, a memorial to Edgar Mayhew Bacon, local successor to Washington Irving in recording the history of Sleepy Hollow through his writing and his sketches, holds many of his contributions to the society. The Conover collection of historical data, especially contains items from the saw mill of the Manor house, which belonged to the family for many years. Of interest in casting light on the everyday life of Colonial times is the Bacon collection of household linen and baby clothes. A portion of the Rowell collection of circusiana consists of old programs, song books, joke books. couriers and broadsides, with many personal items from stars of the White Top. In another case may also be seen several clocks from the Rowell collection. rare examples of the early shelf clocks made in Up State New York around 1825. '"fhe memorial room of Leslie V. Case, given by Mrs. Wo:cester Warner, contains o:ie of the most outstanding docu ments of the Revolutionary War. the Congressional proclamation and award to Isaac Van 'J.l art for his part in the capture of Andre. Other Andreana, Washington Irving items, including his suit worn while minister to Spain, and the Grinnell collection of letters to his nieces and items pertaining to John Paul Jones are on exhibition. One of the best and most authentic Indian collections in the country is housed in the Hokohongus room, that of Leslie V. Case, presented by an anonymous donor who wished to preserve the pipes and Westchester Indian relics particularly for the com munity. Experts from the Museum of the American Indian have catalogued and arranged the displays, which have been cased with the inspection by school classes and young people especially in mind. The Veterans Memo:·ial room is a cooperative venture of the local posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. The atmosphere of trench life is preserved. The collec tions are presented as an appeal for world peace. Colonel Kent's collection of Civil War material. Andersonville prison relics, and Gettysburg items are shown near the Veterans' display in the Hall of Horrors. The Olde Tarrytowns Room contains collec tions of unusual local historical interest, and served as the office of the society. The Washington Irving Browsing Room offers many rare advantages to the student of American history, containing reference books, rare editions in the Spangberg collection, including a "Breeches Bible" and a "Doomesday Book," and publications of the society. The Historical museum is open at all times, and its publica tions are on sale. 12 CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (South Broadway at Elizabeth Street) For more than a century a part of the life of the community has centered about Christ Episcopal Church, for which the bishop of the diocese laid the corner stone in 18 3 6. Two late members of the Philipse family, once the ruling family of the section, Mary Philipse and Katherine Kemble, were :first communicants to the church and were buried beneath the tower-but it is to Washington Irving, that the church has become almost a memorial shrine. He sent the pewter Communion service, which is still in use, from England: and also presented the furnace which heated the church until a few years ago. It is now in the Smithsonian Institute. Irving's pew originally stood five rows from the chancel but is now in the baptistry beneath a memorial

tablet erected in his honor. His prayer book is also preserved by the church. A small frame in the baptistry contains some holly leaves from the Castle of Drum in Scotland, which is said to be the ancestral home of the Irvings. Robert Bruce is said to have been hidden in a boll y copse by one of the family and in grateful memory of his prickly sanctuary, later made the boll y leaf the emblem of the Irvings. The pew itself is the only one of the originals of the ear 1y church now remaining. _ In April of 1938, history was repeated under unique circum stances, when Washington Irving, a great grand nephew of the writer, planted a slip of ivy beside the church tower. His illus- 13 trio us fore bear had planted the original slip of the same vine in the same spot, I 00 years before. The ivy. which has grown on the tow·er for so many years, came originally from Walter Scott's home. Abbotsford and now covers Sunnyside, Irving's home. Sandblasting during a renovation of the church made it necessary to transplant the vine for a few mon tbs previous to April of 19 3 8. Washington Irving also gave the organ still in use and another memorial to him is the central stained glass windo\v of the transept. given by the Irving family in I 8 73. Memorials to the other builders of the church and the com m unity are numerous and are in no small part responsible for the sense of closer relationship to Sleepy Hollow which the church immediately gives the visitor. The altar is said to have been brought originally from Normandy. Its history is not known.

MEMORIAL TABLET AT TARRYTOWN STATION In memory of the famous river battle off Tarryto,vn harbor a tablet erected on the wall of the station reads: '·THIS TABLET. ERECTED BY THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND CITIZENS OF THIS VICINITY ON JULY 15. 1899, COMME!vIORATES THE ACTION AT TARRYTCWN. \VHICH OCCURRED NEAR THE SPOT ON JULY 15. 17 81, AND ALSO THE HEROISM OF COLONEL SHELDON AND CAPTAIN HURLBUT OF THE SECOND REGii\1ENT OF DRAGOONS. CAPTAIN-LIEUTENANf MILES OF THE ARTILLERY AND LIEUTENANT SHAYLOR OF THE FOURTH CONNECTICUT REGIMENT, WHO RECEIVED THE PAR TICULAR THANKS OF GENERAL WASHINGTON ... FOR THEIR GALLANT BEHAVIOR AND SPLENDID EXERTIONS ON THAT OCCASION. GENERAL WASHINGTON WAS STATIONED IN

ARDSLEY AT THE TIME OF THIS ENCOUNTER. u

COUVENHOVEN INN (Marker, northwest corner of Broadway, Main Street) Site of famous Revolutionary inn where General Washing ton and other leaders of the times stopped. The stage coach which ran along the Post Road made this tavern of William Couvenhoven, headquarters in Tarrytown for the Colonial days. 14 VAN TASSEL TAVERN (Marker, east of Broadway, in front of present Frank R. Pierson School) Site of one of the oldest of the local farmhouses once the property of the Martling family, and later belonging to the Van Tassels. During the Revolution the house became a tavern and a rendezvous of local rebels. Washington Irving is said to have visited often at the home when it belonged to Jacob Mott. -•

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ANDRE MONUMENT (North Broadway) A lusty brook has been tumbling down Tarrytown Heights across the Post Road, for several hundred years, and at present is running through the center of the Highland Manor School campus. Near it, on the west side of the Post Road, stands a memorial statue marking the spot where Major John Andre, British spy, was captured by the three Sleepy Hollow patriots, David Williams, Isaac Van Wart and John Paulding. The granite base of the monument was erected in 185 3 and the shaft revised in 1880. The figure is supposed to be that of John Paulding. 15 OLD DUTCH CHURCH (Post Road, North Tarrytown) Frederick Philipse, Lord of the Manor, completed his first manor house in Sleepy Hollow, and started a dam to en!arge h:s anchorage on the Pocantico River and to provide power for a grist mill. Three times a freshet wiped out the dam, and three times Philipse started anew. FinaII y. Cc.ff y, a slave in the househo!d, related a reoccurring dr~am - that the dam would never hold until a church was built. So Frederick forthwith fell to the construction of a meeting house, and found that the dam withstood future freshets. In fact, there is a substanti~l dam there today.

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This story, told in Edgar Bacon's "Chronicles of Sleepy Hollow" and in the 200th ann:versary book of the First Re formed Church, lineal descendant of the Old Dutch Church, has become an accepted part of the Sleepy Hollow tradition. Another tale goes that Philipse built the church for his wife, but Cuffy' s dream is the popular legend. In any case, according to the majority of authorities, the meeting house was probably started in 1685, since that is the date on the bell, which seems to have been ordered from Holland especially for the church. No absolute proof of its completion is known until 1697. The foundation is of field stone from the earliest cleared farms, and the yellow brick used in its construction came from Holland. According to the Rev. John Knox Allen, a former 16 pastor of t}:le First Reformed Church, the sloop which :floated the load up the Pocantico to the foot of the hill, became grounded and a persistent tradition in old families repeats that traces of the wreck and yellow bricks could long be found along the river bed. Some of these bricks may be seen in the wall under the southwest window, where the door was originally placed. The Post Road f o.::-merly approached from the east, crossing some fifty yards up stream from the present road, and a path led from the road to this ear 1y door which was sheltered by a small hood projection. The first wincrows were small and square with small panes of glass, guarded by heavy iron cross-bars, according to Dr. Allen, and placed at least seven feet above the floor. Two connected galleries hung from the north and the west sides reached by stairs starting in the middle of the church. The pulpit, at present in the church, is supposed to be an exact reproduction of the original-tall and mounted by a circular stairs. On each side of it were raised thrones, where the Philipse family sat. These were probably curtained and cushioned in direct contr~st to the stiff, backless o~k benches in the rest of the church. After the Revolution, these thrones were used by the deacons and elders of the congregation. The weather vane on the eastern end of the roof bears the mo:iogram V F ( V redryck Fl ypse) and is believed to be the one placed there by the builder himself. The bell, which still sum moils the congregation to worship, was cast in Holland. Richly ornamented with exquisite workmanship in bands of gargoyles, e:igks, owls and dolphins, the bell bears the inscription, "Si Deus pro no:-:,is quis contra nos, 1685" (if God be for us, who can be against us?). The Communion table of oak inlaid with ebony, and the silver tankards and bowl used in the baptismal service, were ordered at the same time as the bell. The Dutch congregation often spent the entire day at church coming early in the morning equipped with picnic luncheons, and sitting stolidly on the backless benches through five-hour sermons. In dangerous times, the men brought their guns to church, stack ing them by the door, and the sturdy little building could easily be transformed into an impregnable fortress against Indian marauders. Said to be the oldest church still in use in America, the Old Dutch Church is open every Summer for vespers, and at specified times on visiting days. The small burying ground which surrounds the Old Dutch Church has probably been in use since the middle of the seven teenth century, even before the church was built. Here, according 17 to historians. Indians and black slaves lie buried as well as our Dutch forbears. Red sandstone markers were used for the earliest graves because they were easy to cut, and for that same reason, have crumbled under the weather. Many of the names are un readable and others badly defaced. Moon-faced cherubs with sturdy wings smile benignly over some of the epitaphs which sum briefly the struggles and cares of the early Sleepy Hollow people. Some of the sentiments which echo out of the past and can still be seen on the stones are:

'·My cares are past l\!I y bones at rest God took my life When He thought best."

.. Reader. behold as you pass by As you are now. so once was I. As I am now so you will be Prepare for death and follow me."

''To far distant regions this spirit is fled And left this poor body inactive and dead. Though worms my poor body may claim as their prey. 'T will outshine, when risen. the sun at noonday."

Washington Irving's grave is situated northeast of the church on the hillside overlooking the country he made famous.

PHILIPSE MANOR HOUSE ( (Bellewood Avenue, near Post Road) A sturdy, unpretentious home. proof against weather and Indian attack. strategically placed to receive and defend merchant ships ... that is what Frederick Philipse wanted when he built his Manor House on the harbor which opened out into what is marsh and filled-in land today. From the best authorized opinion it seems that Frederick started his building about _16 8 3. The walls were some three feet thick. built of stone. and the house, like most Colonial homes, centered about a huge chimney. Some years ago a local carpenter, renovating the house. found a smoke room four feet square built in to the chimney, which was partially constructed of the same Dutch yellow bricks used in the Old Dutch Church. Several such bricks may be seen at the Historical Society. 18 Gun mounts commanded the harbor, and it is possible that the legend concerning an underground passage to the Pocantico River has a basis. The present house bears little resemblance to the old original home of Frederick Philipse ... the walls have been encased in wood, and two additions have made wings. Miss Elsie Janis, actress and World War heroine, owned the place from 1916 to 19 3 6, being the last occupant. One of the rooms in the old central section of the house is pointed out today as that of General Washington, who is supposed to have stopped to visit Mary Philipse on his way to Boston. This was much before the Revolution and the doughty soldier is said to have stayed an unconscionably long time basking in the charms of Mary. The grist mill stood beside the dam on the Pocan tico River until the turn of the century. The Conover family ( the name is derived from Covenhoven) owned and ran the mill for many years. The collection of mill items owned by the family is on exhibition in the Historical House, as is the Janis collection of Manor House and personal articles.

19 HEADLESS HORSEMAN BRIDGE (Post Road, North Tarrytown) The old wooden bridge over which the Headless Horseman pursued Ichabod Crane, according to Irving's tale, crossed the Pocantico Ri-...rer some 5 0 yards up stream from the present span. This was replaced in 1872, and later, in I 9 I 2, by the late William Rockefeller, who aided in planning the modern concrete bridge.

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IRVING SCHOOL (Post Road, North Tarrytown) Among the outstanding ambitions of Washington Irving was to found a boys' school, and it was largely through his interest and initiative that Irving Institute, "An English and Classical Boarding School for Young Gentlemen" was founded in 183 7 by William P. and Charles L. Lyon. Early catalogues show his active role in affairs of the school as "Chief Examiner" of the students. Daniel Webster is listed as the first reference. William Cullen Bryant, Alexander Duerr, Admiral Mackenzie, Nathaniel B. Holmes were also members of these ear I y examining boards. 20 ROCKEFELLER ESTA TE John D. Rockefeller, Sr., began to build the gardens of his home "Kijkuit" in Pocantico Hills in 1907 when the construction of the house had reached the first floor level. The lovely land scaped vistas, now grown mellow and at home, top one of the hills overlooking Sleepy Hollow and the Hudson valley. The original house was designed by Delano and Aldrich, the gardens by Welles Bosworth who in 1912 collaborated with Delano and Aldrich to make additions. The mansion contains many works of art. It is now occupied by Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The estate covers 3,000 acres. most of which have been allowed to fall back into the natural woods and meadows. Re cently the younger Rockefeller sons and daughters have begun to build their homes here. The grounds, although formerly open to v1s1tors, now, because of the increased number of members of the family living here and the presence of small children, have been closed to the public.

THE CASTLE SCHOOL (Tarryto,vn Heights, Rose Hill Avenue) Another landmark in Tarrytown is known as "The Castle" built on a hill rising behind the village and for many years was the main building of "Miss Masont s School for Girls." For 3 5 years one of the most prominent schools in the country, The Castle vvas also one of the most farseeing of its type. Miss Cassity Mason purchased the building in 1898 determined to run a school to edt1cate women to the topics and problems of the day. This aim it follo,~.red until her death in 1933. The Castle was built immediate! y after the Civil War by a fvir. Herrick, v:ho modeled it on the lines of a Rhine castle. Known at first as Herrick's "Folly," the building was subse quently bought by a man named Dimmick. and then by a William B. Hatch. To further confuse the story, The Castle was then purchased by Mr. Hatch' s brother, A. S. Hatch, president of the Stock Exchange. (Mrs. Robert A. Patteson and Miss Emily Hatch of Tarrytown are his daughters.) The building passed through qther hands before its final purchase by Miss Mason. (Since her death, the old place belongs to the Westchester Savings Bank.) 21 SUNNYSIDE (Sunnyside Lane, west of Broadway on Irvington line) Jane Ren wick, Washington Irving's good friend, brought with her from Abbotsford a gift from another friend, Sir Walter Scott ... cuttings of a famous old ivy vine. She herself planted these slips along the walls of Sunnyside ... the rambling. com fortable, and unpretentious home of America's first man of letters. A collateral branch of the Irving family owns and lives in Sunnyside today. The old house has changed little since it was a favorite study for Currier and Ives prints, many of which are in the Historical House. Ivy grows thickly along the walls with their quaint double windows, and a wisteria vine hangs over the door. One portion of the stone house has been kept in its original state as when Irvjng lived there. Old books, the desk presented to him by his publishers, G. P. Putnam and Sons, antique maps, prints, his dress clothes, his canopied four-poster, are still rem iniscent of his occupancy. Dutch casement windows, crystal chandeliers and carved oak stairways lend charm. According to the story, the house stands on a site once occu pied by Indians, and the old stucco used to cover the rough walls was made from ground oyster shells, discarded by the redmen. In Irving's day, an oyster shell white wash was used, but now grey stucco covers the oyster shells. Sunnyside is not open to the public.

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Washington lroing .l.J emorial at Sunnyside Lane 22 LYNDHURST (South Broadway, Tarrytown) For nearly 100 years a showplace on the Hudson, Lyndhurst, estate of Jay Gould, is situated on the west side of South Broad way, and until recently was occupied by his daughter, the late Mrs. Finley J. Shepard. The original dwelling was built by General William Paulding, son of the Revolutionary hero who took part in the capture of Major Andre. It was made of blue and white marble taken from the quarries at Hastings and Ossin ing. George Merritt later purchased the place, and laid the large foundations finally used by Jay Gould in 1880. After Mrs. Shepard's death, Lyndhurst was bought by her sister, the former Anna Gould, now the Duchess de Talleyrand, who returned from France after many years of residence there. Due to war threats and unrest, it was announced that she would now make her home here.

CARROLL CLIFF (White Plains Road, Tarrytown) One of the dominant landmarks of Tarrytown is the huge stone castle w·hich over looks the Hudson from one of the highest points along the river. Built by the late General Howard Carroll, ''Carrollcliff'' is an authentic copy of a Norman castle. With its round tower and embattled wings, the medieval building could easily be a f orti.fied castle of the Middle Ages. The masonry gate on the White Plains Road is said to have been built for one of the early moving picture companies. The Carrolls liked the gate so much they kept it in the same story-book form. Members of the family still occupy the estate. IRVING MEMORIAL (At the head of Sunnyside Lane on Broadway) Simple, artistic, the Washington Irving Memorial stands at the head of Sunnyside Lane on Broadway. The stone panels depict bronze reliefs of Boabdil. "The Last King of Granada" and ''Rip Van Winkle, the Dreamer of the Kaatskills,'' the two great characters of Irving's creation. A bust of the author stands on a pedestal in the center, inscribed with the words: "WASHINGTON IRVING, 1783-1859, ESSAYIST, POET, HISTORIAN, TRAVELER, DIPLOMATIST, SOLDIER, THE FIRST AUTHOR OF OUR REPUB LIC." Erected in 1928, the memorial is the work of Daniel Chester French. Mrs. Henry Van Devanter Black of Irvington instigated and headed the movement. which culminated in the memorial and is chiefly responsible for its success. Her reminis cences, "I Remember," bring famous local figures in review un- forgettably. 23 HISTORY OF SLEEPY HOLLOW EARLY DAYS Washing ton Irving dabbled in the history of Sleepy Hollow, not as a scholar, but as a story teller, and recounts in his writings some of the early legends of Indian days as well as the Dutch settlers. From as far back as the time Henry Hudson sailed up the river in 1609, Sleepy Hollow was a distinct locality, site of several important Indian villages. One of these, Hokohongus, was situated in the present Philipse Manor, the perfect defense spot. Surrounded on three sides by steep hills and open to the river on the fourth, the place was well protected. Irving speaks of the council tree, a huge chestnut an eighth mile west of the Old Dutch Church. The enormous old tree was growing 200 years before the Dutch settlers sailed to this country, and was a landmark even within the memory of local people, who recall its

huge black shell and stump. Because the Indians believed that trees had a spiritual being, they met under this chestnut in council. Alipconck, a little to the south, was another Indian village of this section, its name meaning "the place of elms." Many traces of Indian residence have been found in this vicinity, especially in Pocantico Hills, where flint veins probably attracted the arrow makers. One flat boulder in the hills is still called "ghost rock" in the neighborhood, and is said to be haunted by the sacrificed victims of the redmen. History denies any such custom to the North American Indian, who usually dispatched his enemy on the spot, but the legend still holds. This boulder and a cliff called Raven Rock are both on the Rockefeller estate. Raven 24 Rock is said to be haunted by an Indian maiden who was swept over the edge in a storm as she was fleeing to her sweetheart. Her voice can be heard at dusk in any high wind, so they say. The earliest known printed map of this district is preserved in an atlas-'·De Nobis Orbis"-owned by the Tarrytown His torical Society. Written by Joanne De Laet in 1633, the atlas shows accurately the twists of the Hudson River through Tappan Zee. On the Nyack side of the river, the author places the "Tap pan" Indians, and approximately at the site of Tarrytown, he names the .. Maguimanes" tribe. The gift of Mrs. Worcester War ner, it is located in the Hall of Tradition at "Historical House." A valuable and authentic Indian collection is housed in the Hokohongus Room of the Historical museum. The items were collected by the late Leslie V. Case, of Tarrytown, a well-known Indian authority and emphasize the Westchester County tribes. The story of the discovery of the great river by Henry Hud son, English explorer for the Dutch East India Company, in his search for a passage to India in 16 0 9, belongs chiefly to the history of Manhattan Island. However, Hudson did sail past Sleepy Hollow on his way to the headwaters of the river, where his hopes for an open passage died. Dutch colonists and traders followed in his path, and :first settled on the island of Manhattan. Some braved the wilderness enough to follow the Hudson up as far as Sleepy Hollow to make their homes. A very early stockade settle ment is recorded at Albany, antedating even New Amsterdam.

CASTLE PHILIPSE Sleepy Hollow is of more value than Manhattan Island, if the purchase price is to be believed. Frederick Philipse, Dutch Lord of Philipsborough, bought the district of "Pekantico" froni the sachems of Weecquesqueeck on December 10, 16 81. And according to the record the local tribe received -10 fathems of duffils; 10 blankets; 8 guns; 7 shirts; 1 ancker of rum; 5 pounds of powder; 10 bars of lead; 6 bowes; 12 axes; 9 kettles; 40 knives; 6 brass tobacco boxes; 2 iron pots; 5 earthern cans; 12 steels to strike fire; 2 copper aldz; 2 half vatts beer; 7 0 fathoms of wampum; 7 pairs of stockings; 6 coates; 2 drawing knives. The :first Lord of the Manor was a business man, however, and undoubtedly knew a good thing when he saw Sleepy Hollow. He was one of the first of what today we like to call "Americans," and his story reads along the '' rags to riches'' theme. Arriving in this country about 164 7 in his tw:enties, this Dutch boy of Bohemian background soon became official carpenter of the Dutch \Vest India Company, and later worked under the redoubtable 25 ( f 1 i t g t, \ ..,.,,.,.. ~ f! t ·H· ,, ', .$ \ 4,.J ' ii I 1~,;'II I! '·t ~ii v,! ;·f ~~-• ••••••~•• ._,...,.._ . .,:¥" ••• :, ...... ,.., • ,--•:.;:n•%•::::::;;:-"'••'--::: ~ ',••A~•..;,,., ... • : - .r .- · <"• ,,.,.,"t • ., ,I~ ►-•).. '',:• - ¥ ~- ~,J·\.··. .·.,. \><'·:.:

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THE DRESS OF MARY PHILIPSE The seated figure wears a blue brocaded dress (1765-1770) which belonged to Mary Philipse. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York. Peter Stuyvesant himself as carpenter for New Amsterdam. His rapid rise in the new world to become one of the most prominent and prosperous traders of New Amsterdam is evidence of brains and ambition. He sent ships to the East and West Indies, im ported slaves from Africa, and in common with other prominent New World leaders, enjoyed the profits of irregular commerce in privateering. He was a member of the Governor's council for 20 years under both Dutch and English domination. His first marriage in 16 6 2 was to Margaret Hardenbroek De Vries, widow of a wealthy merchant and herself a shrewd business woman. She sailed on her own ships and according to a letter of the period, her thrift was such that she once risked the lives of a group of her sailors whom she sent out in a small boat in a heavy sea to rescue a mop that had fallen overboard. The Dutch manor lords were noble in ancestry as the story of Philipse shows. They acquired their vast holdings gradually and had their titles confirmed by the government, in this section, first by the Dutch and later by the English court, which respected property rights when New Amsterdam changed hands. Philipse' s title to Philips-borough, the manor which extended from Croton to Spuyten Duyvil along the Hudson River, was not confirmed by the English court until 1693, but was a fact long before that. The manor lords exercised considerable jurisdiction in their estates, which were not, however, feudal in government. The land was leased to tenant farmers, many of whom were probably living in Sleepy Hollow before Philipse became Lord of the Manor. The huge land holdings were kept intact as a rule for nearly a century, when, after the Revolution, Philipsborough was divided by the forfeiture act. Philipse chose Sleepy Hollow for his manor house perhaps for the very reasons the Indians settled at Hokohongus. The site was ideal for his purpose - well protected on three sides from surprise Indian attacks and lying along the banks of the Pocantico harbor, where his boats could unload at his back door. Here he buiit h:s "castle" a stanch Dutch fortress dwelling, dammed the Pocantico River to provide power for his ·grist mill, and built a family church, the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, all from 1683 to 1689, the Church being surely com pleted by 169 7. The "castle" was constructed with an eye to defending the harbor, well-furnished with gun mounts to protect the richly loaded ships. For many years a prominent boulder on the Kings land Point shore of Tarrytown has been called "Kidd's Rock" 27 and is supposed to have been the meeting place of the pirate pri vateer and the New Amsterdam council member, Philipse, who may well have enjoyed a share in the plunder. After Margaret's death, Philipse' s second marriage was to another widow, Catherine Van Cortlandt Der Val, who also brought more wealth to the former carpenter, always fortunate in his affections. He died in 1 7 0 2, and because his eldest son, Philip had died, he divided his estate between Philip's son, Fred erick, and his own son, Adolphus. The latter died without children, and the whole manor reverted to Frederick 2nd, thus the second Lord of the Manor. By this time the family used the manor house in Yonkers built a little later than the Sleepy Hollow dwelling. Frederick, the third "lord," was the head and front of the conservatives in Westchester during the events leading up to the Revolution. His leadership, however, seems more due to his wealth and position than to any intrinsic qualities, and although he headed the list of suspects presented by the county rebels to the provincial Congress, he took no apparent active steps against the rebels, 1nerely lent his support to the English. In the Summer of 1778 he was suspected of having communication with British ships lying in the Hudson River, and was exiled to Connecticut. He later sailed for England where he died in 1785. This section of Philipsborough was divided under the forfeiture act of 1788. the Manor House falling to Gerard Beekman. North Tarrytown was long known as Beekmantown.

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28 REVOLUTIONARY DAYS Farmland in the clearings, traffic up and down the Hudson, Indian trading post, stopping place for travelers on the King's Highway- this was Sleepy Hollow when the events of 1776 stirred the world. The river road was of great importance to the armies of both sides in the war of independence. Much of the guerilla skirmishing which won the war for the colonies took place along stone walls, woodpiles, and wooded glens like those in Sleepy Hollow. These same stone walls still mark outworn boundaries in the back fields. Concrete culverts today replace old wooden bridges from which country marksmen o"nce harried the redcoats. And all this in spite of the fact that Sleepy Hollow was in so-called "neutral ground" between the two lines. Pewter tea pots, bows and the leaded windows of the Colonial period are rare in the Hollow, as they are in all Westchester. The metal was needed more in the form of bullets. Because the district was neither Colonial nor British for such a long period, enlistment of soldiers was hit-or-miss. The country was the scavenging ground of skinners and cowboys. The former were supposedly attached to the rebel troops, who robbed farm owners indiscriminately for supplies by which they personally profited. The cowboys, more law abiding, were chiefly occupied in capturing and driving cattle through to the British troops in New York City. ··-:)}i\:\})t{(. ::· ... :-···-·::.:.:. ?t 1tt: ::· ·

THE CAPTURE OF ANDRE From painting by A. B. Durand and engraved by Alfred Jones. Reproduced in pottery by the Tarrytown Pottery Works as shown in plate at Tarrytown Historical Society in the Leslie V. Case Memorial Collection, the gift of Mrs. Worcester \Varner 29 CAPTURE OF ANDRE Sleepy Hollow's chief Revolutionary event was the capture of Major John Andre, gallant English secret agent, whose seizure with papers from Benedict Arnold, betraying West Point, is regarded as one of the most significant happenings of the Revo lutionary War, decisive in the fate of the new Republic. The accepted story over which a battle of details still rages, is that the major was returning from a meeting with Arnold in Haverstraw with the papers concealed in his boots. Riding along the Post Road in Sleepy Hollow on September 24, 1780, at approximately where the memorial statue stands today, he was stopped 'fiy three country boys, militiamen - Paulding, Van Wart and Williams. Misled by the Hessian uniform, one of them wore, he is reported to have exclaimed, "I hope you are of our party." Although he had a pass from Benedict Arnold, he was searched, and the West Point plans discovered. He was taken ten miles to the nearest officer, later tried by court martial and hanged. John Paulding. Isaac Van Wart and David Williams were three of a group of farmer boys of the vicinity who were on special leave from the militia. They are said to have been com missioned to stop the transport of cattle and food to the British troops by the cowboys. These three were eating their luncheon and playing cards concealed in the bushes. when Andr~ appeared. Washington Irving tells the legend of the tulip tree which stood where Andre was captured and is said to have been split by lightning the day that he was hanged. A story told by Miss Mary Schuyler Hamilton of Elmsford, a descendant of John Bremer, one of the boys in the party of which Andre's captors were members. is typical of the many legends and traditions of the Hollow. It seems that Mrs. Bremer gave the three militiamen their luncheon wrapped in a pewter bowl to keep it safely. In the excitement of Andre's capture, they left it behind them when they returned to the farm. Mrs. Bremer took the capture of Andre as mere! y typical of unsettled times. The pewter bow I, however, was another matter. A trip back to the tulip tree was necessary before she was mollified, and the same pewter bowl was safe to be handed down to Miss Hamilton who treasures it today. A grateful Congress awarded each of the captors a pension for life, sent each a copy of the resolution and a medal. The only one of_ these three copies known to be extant is the Van Wart document which the Tarrytown Historical Society possesses. 30 RIVER BATTLES British men-of-war, supply ships coming to the rebel forces and many lesser craft swarmed along the Hudson in the days of the Revolution, and numerous exploits are recounted in the history of the district, as taking place along the shores of Sleepy Hollow. Earth ramparts were thrown up by local defenders overlooking the Hudson and commanding a good view of the landing places. Two prominent lunettes of this type are at the foot of Church Street and in Sleepy Hollow cemetery. The latter was probably to protect the Sleepy Hollow bridge, and is the site today of a Revolutionary soldiers' monument. One of the most outstanding skirmishes is recounted in a letter of General Washington, August 4, 1776. Two British men-of-war, the Phoenix, carrying 40 guns, and the Rose, carry ing 2 0 guns, anchored off Tarrytown in a spot where low tide would leave them aground. Realizing this, a small force of rebels decided to take advantage of the British ignorance of local condi tions, and to attack at low tide. Five little galleys and a whale boat, with an entire armament of less than one tier of guns on the Phoenix, accordingly set sail from New York. Unforeseen delays caused their arrival here at high tide and the big ships were well afloat. However, like a swarm of mosquitoes, the smaller forces harried the larger ships for more than two hours, with consider able loss to the British and at greater risk to themselves. Although balked at this time, two weeks later, the same rebel group returned with an old schooner and a sloop loaded with combustibles, and under cover of darkness, grappled them to the men-of-war. The resulting fire warned the British after great damage, that the local harbor was no haven of rest. A particular1 y fierce encounter took place in the Tarrytown harbor, which is now almost completely filled-in land, on July 15, 1781, two American supply sloops were sighted by five British vessels, which immediately gave chase. The Americans put into Tarrytown harbor, running ships aground 1n an effort to get as near the shore as possible. A sergeant and tw·elve men from a French regiment stationed there waded into the water to attack the boats let down by the British to prevent the landing of the supplies. In melodrama style, the unequal battle was about to be lost, when a company of American dragoons, attracted by the firing from Dobbs Ferry, four and a half miles away, galloped on the scene. They dashed into the water, boarded the American ship which had been set on fire by the British, and saved the much needed supplies.

31 HOSTELRIES Tarrytown was a good day's trip from New York in Colo nial days, and weary travelers accordingly looked for lodgings at Sleepy Hollow. Stage coaches had not yet felt the competition of the newfangled railway, and used to stop at the Tavern, now called the Hotel Florence. A local tradition has it that upon the site now occupied by the Hotel Florence, a roadside tavern was run by one Betsy Flan nigan who was known for her good chicken dinners and a certain warming concoction of spirits and bitters. For the young French officers stationed here during the Revolution, she would serve these drinks, garnished with chicken feathers. Thus, according to the story, the "cocktail" was born. The story also goes that Washington Irving himself used to spend a genial hour or two in the afternoon with his cronies at this inn until his coachman would be dispatched with haste from Sunnyside to remind the neighborly story-teller that dinner was ready. Another hostelry wa_s the Covenhoven Inn where a brisk tavern trade was carried on. Here General Washington met Gov ernor George Clinton and Lieu tenant Governor Pierre Van Cortlandt, to spend the night, perhaps in celebration of the event which they were to witness the next day - the evacuation of New York City by the British on November 21, 1783. Another popular Colonial tavern of Sleepy Hollow, built in 1712, like many another farm house, converted into a soldier's rendezvous, was the Van Tassel house. Popular legend has it that Washington Irving chose it as the home of his heroine, Katrina Van Tassel. Here a party of British refugees was sur prised and captured by a Major Hunt. Here in November, 1777, fiery Abraham Martling may well have met with a ragged group of Sleepy Hollow rebels to lay plans for the revenge of a British act of vandalism. A party of English troops had burned the Van Tassel house on the Saw Mill River Road near Elmsford and had taken prisoners, Peter and Cornelius Van Tassel. Martling's party secretly sailed down the Hudson - got by the water guards on Manhattan Island and landed near Bloomingdale where they set fire to the home of General Oliver Delanoy, commander of a corps of loyalists. Sleepy Hollow, far from succumbing to the deceptive, pro tected quality of its lazy hills, was always in the current of affairs. Port of ships, carrying on trade with the interior reaches of the Hudson - hospital for travellers on the Post Road - center of conflicting armies - the village led no dull lite. Inns of the town 32 were also exchanges for news. Peddlers. government couriers. soldiers. traders. added their latest gleanings to the nightly bulletin. when local householders dropped in for a good-night draught of ale. NAME - TARRYTOWN This Colonial habit of Sleepy Hollow farmers - to convene for fellow-ship and gossip at the local inn - gave Washington Irving the basis for his version of the naming of Tarrytown. He has it that this tendency to "tarry" caused housewives to invent the name. Another theory is that the Dutch word for wheat, "tarwe." became combined with the English "town" for the name. A map of the district now in the Historical House, drawn in 1776 for the British army. shows an early version of the name. as "Terrytown." and marks the harborage on the Pocantico River where the "marsh" playground is situated today.

CIVIL WAR Civil War also touched Sleepy Hollow. Periodic drafts swept through the country, and during t11e riots which whirled in this district, it is said that Negroes wer-e harbored at Buttermilk Hill and even in the Spring house of the Manor itse If. A legend, unsubstantiated but persistent, calls Sleepy Hollow an active and important station on the "underground" railway. Diaries of the district record the same heart-breaking sep aration of families which existed throughout the country. Tarrytown's part in the Civil War is recorded in a series of articles by Daniel Van Tassel in the Daily News of 1913. A company of local boys, most of them belonging to the Rescue Hose Company. veteran of the volunteer departments, organized in the old Odell and Clark Hall at the foot of Main Street and Depot Square. The officers were chosen by ballot, and the gray suits bought by local citizens. This Company H, was mustered into the U. S. service on May 31, 1861, and saw two years of fighting. It served at West Point. Virginia. Gaines' Mill, Antietam, Harp er's Ferry, and from the battles of Bull Run to Fredericksburg. When the men returned. the whole town turned out for a triumphal welcome at the station. ,,,, .....

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.,.., .,.., WASHINGTON IRVING Washington Irving first felt the spell of Sleepy Hollow, which he later captured in his own magic, when he was about 15 years old, around 1798, when he may have visited his brother, William, married to Julia Paulding of Tarrytown. His frequent stays here when he would explore the countryside, talking to villagers and imbibing the atmosphere of the place, apparently bred in him a lifelong taste for it. Although he spent many years in the centers of diplomatic, cultural and social life, much of the time abroad, Sleepy Hollow was in the back of his mind, for he finally returned to it. In 18 3 5, he bought ten acres in the village of Dearman, later called Irvington, near the Tarrytown border, and gradually added until the holding included about 18 acres. Except for four years as minister to Spain, when his letters show a continual longing for Sleepy Hollow, this estate, Sunnyside, was his home, from 18 3 7 to 18 5 9. "Wolfert' s Roost'' was Irving's first name for his home, later known as Sunnyside, and characteristically he wove his imagination around the old Colonial farmhouse, once the property of Wolfert Acker in 1 6 5 6. He tells the story of Jacob Van Tassel who organized a body of Tarrytown boys during the Revolution and stoutly defended Sleepy Hollow against skinners, cowboys and invading English troops. Their hiding place was the "Roost," until Jacob, in a moment of enthusiasm, sniped at a British man-of-war, and gave the place away. That's Irving's story, and it's much too good to scorn with skepticism. Gabled, meandering, hospitable, Sunnyside was built from the old Dutch cottage into a modest and comfortable home. Originally intended, Irving said in a letter "as a little nookery, somewhat in the Dutch style, quaint but unpretending," the cottage later "extended until it ended in a complete though moderate sized family residence." Here many a genial time was spent by Irving and his friends, discussing the affairs of the world and its r:ieighbors. Henry Brevoort, Ogden Hoffman, James Paulding, Charles King, William Astor, George Palmer Putnam, Philip Honer, West, the painter - all gathered to spin the evenings away with story and anec dote - their host, the best story teller of them all. · During his years here, Irving's own family, his nieces and his nephews, filled the house with young laughter and good times. A gregarious person, he was associated with many of the com- 34 munity affairs, pausing at each gate in his neighborhood strolls. A letter describes Tarrytown at the time he attended Christ Episcopal Church - ''When you know the village it was little better than a mere hamlet, crouched down at the foot of the hill ... Now it has mounted the hill, boasts of its hotels, and churches of various denominations, has its little Episcopal Church with an organ . . . the gates of which, on Sundays, are thronged with equipages." He continues to describe the social life of the com munity, gay with picnics, gatherings, boating and sleighing. He was also a founder of Irving School.

''ELEGANT EIGHTIES'-' As a residential suburb of New York, Sleepy Hollow began to come into its own in the "elegant eighties," although evidence of its future could be seen as early as 1850, and the period con tinued until 19 I 1 or '12. The rise of the big financiers, of Ward McAllister's "four hundred," brought business nabobs along the Hudson valley for country estates. Such names as Jay Gould, Cyrus Field, layer of the first Atlantic cable, John Brisben Walker, publisher, and first to establish an automobile factory on Kings land Point, the old "Mobile" plant; John Jacob Astor, George D. Morgan, uncle of J. Pierpont Morgan, A. S. Hatch, president of the Stock Exchange, James C. Fargo, founder of the American Express, the Wendel fa1nil y, Hamilton W. Mabie, editor of the Outlook, Marshal M. Bright, an editor of the Christian Science Monitor, and countless others were well associated with this section. Lands sloping down to the river were crowned in imitation of the Rhine, with magnificent castles. Thus Tarrytow·n had the Howard Carroll place, "Carrollcliff," on the White Plains Road, used in early motion pictures; the Castle, built immediate! y after the Civil War by a Mr. Herrick, owned by A. S. Hatch and :finally known as "Miss Mason's School for Girls"; and especially well known, "Lyndhurst," the Jay Gould place, and until her death, home of his daughter, Mrs. Finley J. Shepard; the magnificent homes of John D. Rockefeller and his brother, William Rocke feller, both overlooking the Hudson. All parts of a remarkable social era which has already almost been forgotten, these estates typify the affluence and assurance of the period. Nothing will ever approach the elegance of the carriage, topped by dignified footmen, and drawn by a pair of '' spanking horses.'' Broadway even at this time was not always the most attrac tive road for ladies on their afternoon drive. Brooks and springs, since harnessed, made perpetual mridholes where wagons were sometimes mired for months on end, even in the memory of local 35 residents today. Some of the landowners commuted to New York by their own boats. One long-time home-owner had counted as many as eleven steam yachts off the foot of Sunnyside Lane. The mooring place today for the few yachts which still come up the Hudson is off the foot of Main Street in Tarrytown. Boating was once the popular sport. Many Sleepy Hollow people owned their own small launches and belonged to the boat club in Tarrytovvn which still caters to local skippers. Row boating was a familiar pastime for swains and their sweethearts on Summer afternoons, and walking along the Post Road on Sundays almost a traditional habit. Twenty-five years ago the camera craze, which has its modern phase in the "candid camera," could have been evident along any of the local roads and river views. The familiar cry. "Get a horse," could be frequen ti y heard, as proud and fe·arful automobile owners negotiated through the streets. Tarrytown at this date was a Summer resort for many New Yorkers who would stay at an inn on Neperan Road hill. Many famous people have touched this vicinity - Mark Twain once owned the house belonging to Mrs. Jacques Halle today, on the corner of Rosehill Avenue. and Benedict Avenue, but iater made his headquarters at Riverdale instead. In 193 7, his daughter. Clara, widow of the famous conductor, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, rented a house a little east of this estate, where she wrote her memoirs. Rafael Joseffy, renowned pianist, lived in North Tarry town and gave many local concerts for his neighbors. Gertrude Atherton, authoress, lived at the local Hotel Florence while she wrote ''The Conqueror." life of Alexander Hamilton, whose grandson lived in the Irvington estate "Nevis." Rockwell Kent, artist, long lived in Wilson Park, where he frequently returns to visit members of his family. Amzi Barber and John Brisben Walker started the manu ture in 1899 of a steam auto, the Mobile, on Kingsland Point. Stanford White designed the factory for Mr. Walker, who gave the note for the dividing of community's ways when he announced "I will make Tarrytown a model manufacturing town." He meant the Tarrytowns, as Kingsland Point is in North Tarry town. The commercial development of Sleepy Hollow was thus sounded, and for a while seemed about to engulf the basic quality of the Dutch community. Mr. Walker, at one time, considered using the turbine of the old silk mill. once located near the Manor House on the Pocantico River. His auto firm fell in the depression of 1903, and the Maxwell-Briscoe Company took over the factory. The railroad which went through in 1849 and for many years 36 went no farther than Tarrytown was another factor in the chang ing of Sleepy Hollow. Washington Irving complained of the noise in its early days, and planted a new row of trees to hide it from view at Sunnyside.

i,NEIGHBOR JOHN'' AND HIS FAMILY In assembling ''Kijkuit'' his Pocantico Hills home, on the lines of the English park plan, Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Sr., followed the accepted thought of the Hudson estate owners in the 19th century. But he departed enough from the conventional plan to bring back to the section a suggestion of the original Philipse Manor grant. The Pocantico Hills estate has proved a link between the old and the future community. From the original purchase in 1893, the holdings have grown until a vast acreage covers the hilitops and valleys overlooking Sleepy Hollow. Departing from the land scaping ideas of the eighties, the country has been allow·ed to follow its natural lines, while being cared for and watched to maintain the unique quality of Sleepy Hollow which drew the Rockefeller family here, just as it had drawn Frederick Philipse and Washington Irving. Farmlands where old Colonial houses had dropped into neglect, have again fall en into an earlier ease. Old trees, here when the Indians used to visit the hills for flint. are pruned, and the brooks which have followed the same courses to the Pocantico

River. . for centuries, are cleared. The entire estate is a preserve for wild life, animals, birds and flowers. Special provision is made to feed deer and waterfowl and the numerous other animals which make their home on the place. One of the highest points in the county is a hilltop on the estate, from which a view of the Long Island Sound may be had, as well as the sweep of the Hudson down to Manhattan. Until recent years, visitors have been admitted to the estate, now· owned by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. However. the estate contains the homes of his sons and daughters, at present, and the greater number of persons in the family as well as the presence of small children has necessitated the revoking of the previous visiting privileges. The name of the estate, "Kijkuit," means "lookout," a name given to the site by the Dutch settlers in the seventeenth century. One of the Colonial farms contained on the place is the old Stephenson house, which still bears the marks of a fierce Revolu tionary skirmish on its dnor. Another farm belonged to a 37 long-forgotten gentleman who hoped to corner the silk market by raising silk worms. He lined the roadway to his house with mulberry trees, the leaves of which the w-orms are supposed to relish. The climate proved too much for the silk worms, who soon succumbed, but the mulberry trees have flourished, and furnish a haven for birds who enjoy the berries.

While the name of the t:State "Kijkuit" means "lookout," the spirit is one of repose. The great variety of focal points of interest make it possible never to tire of one view or type of view. The whole is so skillfully blended as to make the visitor feel that an hour is but a moment. A distinct feeling of peace and rest enters the soul. How this effect is accomplished is not clear unless it be sheer perfection of conception. The main house was so located by the owner, after careful experimentation with models, that there is sunshine in every room. From each quarter of the house may be seen unusual views, the creations of man blended into natural beauties. Within is the organ which gave so much pleasure to good "Neighbor John" during his later years and, as stated earlier, his portrait by Sargent hangs in the dining room. Now occupied by Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., successor to the honorary and affectionate title of good "Neighbor John," the main house is renowned for the gardens surrounding it. The Japanese gardens, authentic in every detail, are especially remark able. A brook, which winds through the garden, later wanders along the Sleepy Hollow valley near the automobile road. In the early Summer, it is a blue line of forget-me-nots which have floated down from the upper gardens and seeded themselves pro fusely along the stream.

38 To The Tarrytown Historical Society:

Today is the One Hundredth anniversary of my father's birth. I could desire no more fitting commemoration of the occasion than the privilege of setting up a simple memorial to him in the community in which he lived so happily for nearJ.y half a century. Here in the Tarcytowns and Pocantico Hills he established the home of his later life amid surroUildings that were very dear to him. Here among his friends and neighbors; with his children, his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren about him,.he journeyed peacefully, happily and with confidence down life's western slope.

The Tarrytown Historical Society offers the natural and appropri ate place for the establishment of such a memorial. To its reverent care and sympathetic presentation I am happy to entrust these intimate reminders of my father. This I do in the hope that to all who come under the spell of this lovely countryside they mey speak of his daunt less courage, the love he bore his fellow men and his faith in God.

Among these objects are his desk from our old homestead in Cleve land, so fascinating to me as a child with its many cubbyholes and convenient spaces, at ·which I can even now see Father sitting; two books of devotion which he used for years at famiJ.y prayers, turning down with his own hand the corners of the pages which he found espe cially helpful; the on:cy- book he ever wrote, setting forth some of his observations on life and the philosophy of his mature years; the prayer offered by Dr. Fosdick that beautiful summer's day vm.en Father's friends and employes looked on his face once more as he ley" in his home on the hilltop up yonder so peacefully at rest in his last long sleep; the tribute to him from the philanthropic boards which he es tab lished and from the beneficiaries of their helpfulness throughout the world; photographs of him at various ages, of his mother vm.om he loved so dearly and of his brothers and sisters; a photostatic copy of his first account book, Ledger A, vdti.ch tells so eloquently the story of his humble beginnings, his frugality and his gen&rosity. 'l'hese and other kindred objects,through the kindly offices of your Society, I gladly make permanently available to Father's many friends known and unknown. In so doing my satisfaction is only heightened because of the confident knowledge that no other msmorial, Viherever located or however elaborate or costly, could be moi-9 pleasing to him or to his family.

Pocant. ico Hills New York July s, 1939

39 MODERN SLEEPY HOLLOW Sleepy Hollow has always been on a highway. For the Indians and the early colonists, it \Vas the river. Later it was the Post Road, and then the railroad. Two large traffic arteries, the Post Road of today, and the Sa\v Mill River Parkway, of late have cut across Sleepy I--Iollow, carrying limitiess numbers through the district. For the last 2 5 years the district has been on the march of economic development. Former woodlots. orchards have become flourishing settlements. The factories have brought many new residents, although a large part of the working population com mutes to New York. Main streets have grown from shaded, provincial lanes, lined with comfortable family dwellings, into business districts which are rapidly spreading. Churches, new schools, a library, apartment houses, all are marks of the modern community. Because of its strategic position in reach of New York, Sleepy Hollow has become a school center. Many other private institutions followed in the wake of Irving School - historic Castle. School founded by Miss Cassity Mason, which became a well-known finishing school for girls, and closed at the time of her death a few years ago: Hackley School for boys, on the hills above Tarrytown: Highland Manor School for girls, furough which Andre Brook tumbles: and Andre brook School for Girls, also on a hill above North Tarrytown: Marymount College and School, liberal beneficiaries of the Butler family at Tarrytown Heights. Curiously enough, the highways, broadened to accommodate the vast traffic to and from New York City, have served, per versely, to allow the country to recapture its identity. Smaller roads, which formerly teemed with city traffic, have fallen again into quiet days. Wild flowers have begun to bloom along the edges of the fields, \Vhcre birds have returned to build their nests. Sleepy Hollow holds its essential quaiity, its individuality - in its backroad elbows, in the atmosphere of its side tracks, in the Dutch names of local residents straignt down through the years, and in actual buildings used for over 25 0 years. A modern community. Sleepy Hollow, not familiar to Irving's Ichabod Crane or the fair Katrina, except perhaps when on warm Summer afternoons the river haze softens new outlines, and the Old Dutch Church can be seen sturdily holding its post over the Pocantico River where local youngsters might be taken for small Dutch urchins who fished in these very same pools. Sleepy Hollo,v is fortunate in its heritage - rich in its resources. 40 l}ortraits of ®ut JJlotablts Ji!' jfamous ~ttists This section of the guide book is made possible through the generosity and cooperation of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. with the aid and advice of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller. Jr., the Frick Art Reference Library, the A. W. Mellon Educa tional and Charitable Trust of Pittsburgh, Pa., the Museum of the City of New York and the New York Historical Society. The Artists (Prepared with the assistance of the Frick Art Reference Library)

Ezra Ames, portrait painter in oils and miniature, was born May 5, 1768 in Fra1ningham, Massachusetts. He was the youngest son of the six children of Jesse Emes or Ames and Bette Bent. In 1790 he was established as a painter of furniture and coaches. On October 6, I 7 9 4 he married Zipporah Wood at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. They had four children. He died in Albany, February 23, 1836. Timothy Cole ( 185 2-1931) was a world famous wood engraver, whose work won the highest honors in America and Europe. Although English by birth, so far as his career was concerned, he belonged completely to the United States. Henri Couturier is said to have painted a portrait of Frederick Philipse, first lord of the Manor, in New Orange in I 6 7 4. He resided for some years in Dela ware, where he became Councillor or Burgomaster of the Province. He died in 16 84. Some of his portraits are signed with the monogram of the artist. Gilbert Stuart Newton ( 1794-1835), nephew of Gilbert Stuart, studied for a while under his uncle. He went to France and England, in which place he spent the rest of his life. His paintings became very popular in England, his work there being largely genre or subject pictures. John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), American painter in oils and water colors, studied under Carolus-Duran in Paris, helping that master with his mural pictures, yet finding time to study and travel in Italy and Spain. Sargent opened a studio in Paris which he kept until 1884, when he moved to London. He spent much of his time in the United States, however, painting some of his finest portraits here. and doing famous murals for the Boston Pub lic Library. He is particularly noted for his portrait work. He was a personal friend of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Sr., of whom he painted a famous portrait. Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828), the greatest early American por trait painter, was educated in Newport, Rhode Island, where at an early age he painted portraits of many prominent men of Newport. He received some instruction in 1 7 7 0 from Cosmo Alexander, a Scotch artist living in Newport. In 1775 he sailed for England on the last ship that escaped detention by the British in Boston Harbor. He work~d in the studio of Benjamin West ( another American artist) in London and in 178 8 opened his own studio. He became one of the most sought after portrait painters in Eng- 43 land. He returned to America in 1792 and painted many portraits here before his death. His most famous is his Washington por trait of which he painted many versions and replicas. He is at his best in thz po:-trait of Capt. Frederick Philipse in the collection of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. John Woliaston. th{? younger, was an English portrait painter who visited the co:onies in the middle of the 18th century. He painted a grzat many portraits in New York, Philadelphia and the South from 1749 to 1769. Most reputed Philipse portraits are attributed to h~ m. He is called the "younger" because his father, also an artist, 1:o:-e the same name. John Wollaston, the elder. English portrait painter, did a po:tr=iit of "'Whitefield preaching" wh:ch is in the National Po:trait Gallery, London.

44 Attributed by certain experts to Couturier and by them consid ered a portrait of the First Lord of the Manor. This picture was in the Clarke Collection.

45' ~=··.-~?-~ ~<:,~ ~

PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN Possibly Frederick Philipse, Second Lord of the Manor. Painted by John Wollaston. Courtesy of the New York Historical Society.

46 ADOLPHUS PHILIPSE Son of Frederick Philipse, First Lord of the lv! anor. Painted about 169 5 on a pine panel by an unknown artist. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York and Work Progress Administration.

47 PHILIP PHILIPSE Painted by John Wollaston. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York Collectio,:i. the gift of Mrs. Frederic Gros venor Goodridge. and reproduced by their courtesy and the courtesy of the Frick Art Reference Library.

48 !vlRS. PHILIP PHILIPSE (MARGARET MARSTON) Painted by John Wollaston. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York Collection, the gift of Mrs. Frederic Gros venor Goodridge, and reproduced by their courtesy and the courtesy of the Frick Art Reference Library.

49 PORTRAIT OF A LADY Possibly Susannah (Philipse) Robinson. Painted by John Wollaston. Courtesy of the Neu) York Historical Society.

50 CAPTAIN FREDERICK PHILIPSE Painted by Gilbert Stuart. Courtesy of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

51 PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN Possibly Colonel Frederick Philipse. Third Lord of the NI anor. Painted by John Wollaston. Courtesy of the New York Historical Society.

52 MISS MARY PHILIPSE Painted by John W ollaston. Courtesy of I\tf rs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

_,, ) ., MISS MARGARET PHILIPSE Painted by John W ollaston. Courtesy of .lvl rs. John D. Rockefeller_. Jr.

54 MAJOR JOHN PAULDING Painted by Ezra Ames. Courtesy of }.;/rs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

55 W ASHINGTO!\T IRVING Painted by Gilbert Stuart .l\f ewton. Courtesy of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller~ Jr.

56 JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, SR. Painted by John Singer Sargent and later engraved by Timothy Cole. Courtesy of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

57 ...... ouow.